


Melting Snow

by summerxblessings (FadingSummer)



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Bittersweet, Drama, F/M, Romance, historicalAU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22020382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadingSummer/pseuds/summerxblessings
Summary: He was exasperated, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that hinted that he was not very upset, “You were not listening at all were you?”She opted to just ignore his question and turned to look out at the brilliant snow falling from the Heavens. It was now snowing hard, almost as if it were the last time it would snow. Perhaps it would be, for her.“The snow is beautiful.”
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	Melting Snow

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot was written on the first day of winter that has just passed.

He was back.

She carefully made her way to the garden, her heart thumping in her chest loudly as her long robes dragged on the ground beneath her. In her hands she carried a tray of precious china cups and a pot of freshly brewed tea that she had made herself. The contents of the teapot were still piping hot, seen by the steam that serenely climbed its way into the cool, winter air and disappeared.

It was the first day of winter.

The sun setting in the distance painted the sky a vivid purple and blue, her favourite colours. Her lips curled in a smile at that.

The garden was silent except for her footsteps rushing to see him and the rattling of the fine china tea set against the tray. Had she been at home, she would have been reprimanded immediately and perhaps hit by her father for being so ungraceful.

But she was not at home anymore, and she would never return home.

There were no servants following her at a safe distance like they normally did, to ensure she did not get lost or perhaps run away. She had dismissed them, much to their discomfort. But they knew that it was impossible for her to find a way out of the garden and into the city.

He was waiting for her at the pavilion, as usual. It was _their_ place, according to him.

The pond was beginning to freeze over and she was sure that if she were to peer across the tranquil waters, the koi fish would not surface like they usually did.

Her hands were shaking as he greeted her with his gentle smile akin to the unassuming sun on a spring day. He took the tray she held, easing her grip from it before setting the tray on the marble table that sat in the centre of the pavilion.

The steam from the tea sitting in the delicate teapot continued to climb lazily into the chilly air.

“Did you miss me?” he gently asked, taking her hands into his, rubbing her hands with care to warm them up. Her hands were a deathly white from the cold and from holding the tray in a death grip. It was just like him to notice such small details.

It was very unlike what she was used to at home.

She refused to answer. However, she did manage a weak smile for him. It made him surprised for a second, for her smile was much dimmer than usual. He did not ask, knowing she would tell him in due time. Taking her silence in stride, he let go of her hand and sat down on a marble seat. He gestured at her to do the same. She did.

“How did the meeting go?” she asked softly as snow began to dance from the Heavens. The sky was sombre as the clouds began to roll in, and she was sure that there was a brewing snowstorm. It was cold but not quite cold enough for the snow to stay on the ground. She never quite liked these kinds of snowstorms—the kind where the snow melted once it hit the Earth.

It reminded her too much of how nothing lasted forever.

They ignored the tray of tea, the contents of the teapot still hot.

“Your father refuses to cooperate,” Renjun mused, although there was a hint of frustration in his voice. He ran a hand through his dark brown locks, pushing his hair away from his face, “Never have I met a man this stubborn and insufferable. He refuses any help from us in the coming winter and insists that the people in Yuan will do just fine without our supplies.”

Her arrival was meant to be a token of truce and peace between the two empires, yet it seemed like her presence had just fueled tension between the two. She did not believe the tentative truce would last much longer (for it was actually never meant to last).

She exhaled slowly, deep in thought as she watched her warm breath make little, visible puffs of air.

“I must have made him very upset because I mentioned that you were living well.” He then added as an afterthought, “I also mentioned that we are now considering marriage.”

She froze at that, imagining the pure anger and sinister expression that her father must have had. Shivering, she clasped her hands together on the ledge of the marble table.

Her purpose here was not to get married or fall in love. She was here on a far more sinister mission… it did not help that she had also cut off contact with the Yuan Empire, refusing to respond to any letters her father sent.

She was one of the beloved ladies of the Yuan House, the ruling family of the Yuan Empire. Prior to being gifted to Renjun, she was active in the Yuan Empire, often visiting the sick and wounded and offering her skills as a healer. The people probably saw him as a monster who stole away the lady who cared for them, probably no thanks to the propaganda her father and the Emperor were spreading.

She almost smiled at that. If only they knew.

He had been nothing but gentle with her. It was much different living in the Huang Empire than what she had expected. She was well-respected and she did not feel like she had walked into her deathbed. If anything, it was almost as if she were finally living.

She trailed off in her thoughts, musing that Renjun telling her father that he wanted to ask for her hand would explain the missive she received in the morning from her father. Her father had left her predominantly alone for the last three months since her arrival, believing that perhaps she was watched too closely to respond, but it was clear that he was angry with her and believed she had defected.

Renjun continued to speak, ranting about her father, who was the second-hand man of the Yuan Emperor, her uncle. It was not until she noticed that he was staring intently at her that she realized she had zoned out in her thoughts and not heard a word he said.

He was exasperated, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that hinted that he was not very upset, “You were not listening at all were you?”

She opted to just ignore his question and turned to look out at the brilliant snow falling from the Heavens. It was now snowing hard, almost as if it were the last time it would snow. Perhaps it would be, for her.

“The snow is beautiful.”

Renjun followed her gaze out into the garden, where the snow was beginning to cover the earth. He looked back to her, a small smile, wondering what she was thinking about. “I agree.” _But not as beautiful as you._

She was truly a sight, sitting across from him in her majestic silver-white robes. With her every little move, the silver thread in her robes glimmered. Her dark, ebony hair was done half-up intricately, with a few strands out of place but it did not detract from her beauty. From her ears hung simple pearl earrings that he had gifted her two months ago, when he declared that he truly enjoyed her company.

Feeling his stare, she turned to study him carefully. Renjun was a general in the Huang’s Imperial Army, yet his temperance suggested anything but. He was gentle and kind, although he could be cunning and rather insufferable at times. Perhaps that was why he was a skilled general in the field, for he did not let his emotions get the best of him and separated his personality on the battlefield from who he truly was.

It was so unlike her father, who used brute force whenever he was angered. She had made him angered many times in her childhood and even as she grew into a lady. When Renjun had somehow found out that her father had beaten her often throughout her childhood and it was a common occurrence in her life, he had been enraged. He refused to let her father ever see her again.

She did not understand why he cared so much about whether or not her father beat her or not. It was what women in Yuan were used to, after all. She did not mind, however, not ever seeing her father ever again.

She cradled the rib that had phantom pains every now and then. If there was one thing she did not miss, it was her father’s beatings. But then again, the days have passed by in the Huang Empire like a blur and she was not sure if she could say that she really missed much from home.

She felt like she was finally at home here.

Perhaps she was a traitor to her people.

“Did you think about it?” he softly asked, referring to him asking her for her hand. It was clear before he had departed on a peace keeping talk with the Yuan Empire that he intended on marrying her, regardless of if her father approved. She had after all been handed over like a pawn, but Renjun cared for her input the most. Her heart clenched in her chest.

She searched his eyes and she could see his excitement, trepidation, and uncertainty. She did not want to do it, but she was going to disappoint him again. She looked away.

To distract herself, she busied herself by fiddling with the tea tray that had sat forgotten on the table. Renjun, as if understanding where she was going with this, sighed a little. He was never one to push. He was a gentle soul outside of the battlefield that deserved everything in the world. She could not give him everything in the world.

Whoever lived their life with him would be lucky. It would not be her.

It could not be her.

Her father would not allow it, and he would see to it, should she choose to be that person for Renjun. He was already questioning her loyalty and she did not have much longer, regardless of where her loyalties laid.

Her hands were shaking as she reached for the teapot. She poured a cup of tea for him and another for herself, making sure to hand him the cup she had designated his. The tea was still piping hot.

She made her choice. Perhaps she was a coward. Perhaps she was a traitor to her own people.

Her father would be livid when he found out.

He drank from his cup and immediately, a smile made its way onto his face again. It was rose tea, his favourite. This was how she wanted to remember him: a cup of rose tea, a beautiful, white winter snowstorm, and his smile.

She looked away.

“I cannot say yes to your marriage proposal,” she heard herself say, hands playing with the teacup.

She had received a missive this morning, somehow, from her father. It was evident that he had spies everywhere and perhaps she would never be safe from him. In her father’s recognizable and ugly scrawl, he had ordered her to kill Renjun or else. Enclosed with the missive was a pouch of poison.

She had been in a joyous mood knowing that Renjun was returning, until the message and the contents of the pouch made her want to curl up in dread.

Renjun frowned at that, “But surely…” he trailed off. He had seen the way her eyes lit up upon seeing him every time they met—he did not imagine it at all for he had seen it again today. Although today, he was certain something was bothering her. Her smiles did not seem as genuine as they usually were. Not noticing her current inner turmoil, he reached across the table to cusp her wrist gently. “Is something bothering you?”

 _Yes_ , she wanted to say. But she looked away, back towards the snow falling from the Heavens. She gently eased his grip on her wrist.

She had received a similar pouch with poison when she was first gifted to Renjun and she was told to use it on him when the time struck. Yet she had never wanted to, for it was difficult to associate the man with the gentle smile with the stories of a competent yet deadly war general. But even so, it was difficult to want to kill someone who was kind and treated her with respect, which she could not say the same for the noblemen that had tried to court her when she was still living in the Yuan Empire.

She was also told to report back through one spy, a planted handmaiden, on any war strategies that she knew of. She had not bothered with finding anything related to the war, let alone ask Renjun about his war strategies. She did not want to do that to someone who treated her with kindness. Perhaps she was a fool and a pawn in this all, and she was being used by both sides. Perhaps Renjun was just being nice until the time struck when he no longer needed her as a symbol of temporary peace. She did not want to know. However, she could not deny that she had grown attached to Renjun.

She also could not deny that she was living on borrowed time.

Since the announcement of her being gifted to the Huang Empire, she had known that she would not live much longer. A double agent left alone for too long was a liability because of the possibility of them going rogue. A woman who could have slept with the enemy did not deserve to live. Poisoning an important war general was a suicide mission, regardless if the war general died or not. Finding the spy was like finding a needle in a haystack, and the Huang Empire did not have that many resources to spare for something so trivial.

Was anything bothering her?

Not really. She had come to accept her fate.

If she did not die now, she would die later in the hands of her father. She would rather choose how she died, just to spite him.

“No, not particularly,” she said quietly, and she drank from the cup in which poison was laced along the rim. Her lips burned a little from the poison, but she blinked the pain away, carefully guarding her expression. She gave Renjun a tentative smile. “Why don’t you ask me again when the next snow falls?”

“Does that mean you will say yes then?” Renjun asked eagerly, face lighting up. It was almost as if he did not recall being rejected just a few moments prior. She just hummed a noncommittal sound in response, which he took as a yes. He smiled, beaming in joy.

She could only give him a weak smile in response once more.

She pushed away any thoughts of her father and how displeased he would be. He was no longer going to be an issue for she was not going to be here much longer.

She focused on Renjun, her gaze soft.

He took her hand from across the table and stood up. She followed suit, despite beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. They walked together, hand in hand, with Renjun leading her towards the entrance of the pavilion to observe the brilliant snow. He was warm.

The snow was dancing wildly in the garden, some of the snow beginning to remain and paint the landscape white. The pond had frozen over superficially, and the snow was beginning to settle delicately on the ice.

They quietly stood there, listening to each other’s breaths. Her heart beat slowly in her chest, although she felt as though her world was on the verge of collapsing.

Tears obscured her vision, but she blinked them away. She refused to cry. This was not how she wanted him to remember her. Lifting her hand out to the open air, she caught a few snowflakes by chance and watched as they melted in her hand that felt too cold all of a sudden. She was cold.

The poison worked faster than she thought it would.

Her hand slowly fell away from the snow that was falling rapidly down from the Heavens and she leaned on Renjun’s shoulder, something she often did when they were alone. He did not seem to notice anything was amiss just yet. Her breaths began to become slightly laboured, although she tried her best to pace her breaths to sound natural.

“Please be happy,” she murmured.

“That’s random…” he trailed off.

“But I am happy with you by my side,” Renjun replied, nudging her a little. She smiled gently in response, finally feeling at peace, something that she was not used to. It was a contrast to what she felt just moments before. It was the poison beginning to seep into her body.

He looked back to the snow, watching quietly. He would not mind doing this year after year, until his hair became as white as the snow. He was still smiling until he noticed that she was struggling to breathe and almost seemed limp against him. His smile faded.

“Jiale!”

Oh, how she loathed her name.

Renjun was convinced that she was his long-lost childhood sweetheart because she had the same name. His family had originally been from the Yuan Empire but defected to the Huang Empire. According to Renjun, he was her next-door neighbour. She did not recall him in her childhood—much of what she remembered was pain from her father’s beatings. Despite her insistence that it was not her who was his childhood sweetheart, he did not believe her.

She did not want to burden Renjun. He had once told her that he would leave troops to protect her had the two empires begun to fight once more—it had not comforted her. It was a waste of resources. She was not even the person he truly loved. She did not want to find out what would happen once he found the _true_ Jiale. He was a man of honour and would marry her to save her reputation, even if his heart belonged to another. She could not allow that.

She had also heard talks of people in Huang unhappy with Renjun for courting a lady from Yuan. The people in Yuan saw Renjun as a brute who took her away. No one would be happy with their union and she was not sure if she could ever be okay with that. She had always imagined to be happily in love with the approval of many. She was also sure that at least some of the discontent people had towards Renjun were because of her father.

She no longer wanted to be a pawn—her father could no longer use her if she died.

She smiled a little at that.

Renjun was shouting but she could not hear him. She was laying on the cold ground of the pavilion now, supported by Renjun. It was so cold.

All she could see was him and the snow. He was crying. She wanted to wipe his tears away, but she could not lift her arms—she was so tired.

The snow was brilliant, and the world was beginning to turn a crystalline white from the snow, with very little brown.

She smelled roses and all she could think of was his smile.

It was beautiful.

She wanted to tell him that he should not cry, but her mouth refused to open. But it was okay, she was sure that he would come to understand someday.

She was setting them both free.

Her, from the shadow of her father and him, from his obligations to her.

She closed her eyes.

In the lunar year eight-hundred and seven, on the day it first snowed to announce the arrival of winter, Yuan Jiale died. With her, died Renjun’s ambitions of expanding the Empire for the Emperor until he could no longer possibly serve.

The snow quietly continued to fall from the Heavens as the sobs of the feared war general carried out into the dead night.

-

In the lunar year eight-hundred and ten, the Yuan Empire was annexed by the Huang Empire. Huang Renjun stepped down from his position as a general for the Emperor and decided to live a peaceful life on the outskirts of the Huang Empire, away from the prying eyes of society.

His last day of service was on the first day of winter that year. All that many remember was that on the day of his discharge, there was a brilliant display of snow, painting the world a temporary white once more.

He was last spotted leaving the Empire with a beautiful lady with ebony-coloured hair, who wore silver-white robes comparable to snow and smelled of roses. He and the mysterious lady were never seen again.


End file.
